I’d Love to Tell Somebody About This Dream: Folk Alliance Day 3

 

Nimki and the Niniis

My favorite little piece of technology—a wristwatch that monitors my vital signs and tells me how I slept last night—has either betrayed me or unlocked a secret of the universe. It tells me that I fell asleep about the time I sat down in the Bimiwizh (Ojibwe for “listen or carry”) International Indigenous Music Summit in the Pershing Place ballroom.

That makes some sense because there are never late night showcases in the ballrooms, and it also makes sense because, before I left that room, my friend Mike Warren and I were dancing in a great circle with magnificent Turtle Island traditional dancers and virtually everyone else in the ballroom. Those dancers provided kaleidoscopic percussion with their moves, but the driving sound came from the song and drum group, Nimki and the Niniis from Wiikwemkoong, Ontario.

Mikhail Laxton

I think the night’s dream actually started a bit earlier, with a bit of a white rabbit experience. Mike and I learned that this summit was happening because two singers, Ila Barker and Hera Nalam, handed us fliers in the otherwise almost empty lobby, telling us this gathering was about to start. They weren’t exactly checking a great pocket watch, but there was some sense of urgency.

We got there just in time to see a poignant, acoustic set by Mikhail Laxton. His country-soul songs cut close with thoughts on family relationships, love lost, and love cherished, sometimes all at the same time. https://mikhaillaxton.com/  

Barker and backing vocalist Nalam went someplace even more akin to straight soul music, Barker probing with her electric guitar and vocals, extending the heartaches to fundamental questions of self-worth. Nalam backed Barker’s vocals in her own unique way, occasionally offering trills that worked like bubbling punctuation. Barker mentioned newer musicians coming to her about their insecurities and uncertainty whether they should continue. She exclaimed, “Congratulations, you’re an artist,” before launching into “Intuition,” a song about trusting your gut. https://www.ilabarker.com/

Hera Nalam and Ila Barker

Nimki and the Niniis brought that part of the evening to an out-of-body crescendo, sometimes standing and singing with their drums and other times sitting in a drum circle to accompany the dancing. Nimki explained that the center drum in the circle was called the heart drum, drawing parallels between that sound and the heartbeat of our mothers—before we are born, our first teacher. He also acknowledged the full moon, which couldn’t have been more appropriate considering the energy in every room of the house last night. https://nimkiiandtheniniis.bandcamp.com/album/nimkii-the-niniis

We soon found ourselves upstairs in the British Underground acoustic room, catching the end of a set by Lady Nade. Her silky soprano warmed the room and demanded we catch a full set before this is all over. https://ladynade.co.uk/  

Lady Nade

The following set by instrumental duo, Hildaland (Scottish fiddler Louise Bichan and Indiana mandolinist Ethan Setiawan) brought a tapestry of wild, reeling rhythms and songs dedicated to silver wedding anniversaries, the sound of sleet, and the pleasures of sleeping in (which will be something to look forward to sometime near the end of these four days). https://www.hildaland.com/

Hildaland

Mike and I caught only three songs in what we decided would be the final set for the evening, Shakura S’Aida accompanied by Brooke Blackburn (of 2023 Juno award-winning The Blackburn Brothers). Blackburn generally sat and played the guitar, although sometimes his enthusiasm brought him out of his seat. He provided hard-driving rhythms to serve S’Aida’s commanding vocals.

And I mean commanding quite literally because, late to the room, we learned what it meant to take the front row. S’Aida wasted no time directing us to face off and illustrate that first song’s pledge to have each other’s backs. It was the ultimate ice breaker. S’Aida handled that room like a gracious host, greeting another late comer with all the information she needed to get settled, find a beverage and feel at home. 

Shakura S'Aida

The last song S’Aida did was “Clap Yo Hands and Moan.” She credited her old songwriting partner Keb Mo with part of the inspiration. She quoted him saying, “The devil can’t hear you when you moan,” and launched into a song with the powerful refrain, “If you need to call up heaven, and you’ve got the devil on the phone, stomp your feet…, clap your hands…, and moan.” Starting soft, the song built to one blues-shout and moan crescendo after another, the crowd clapping on point. https://www.shakurasaida.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Bimiwizh: Listen, Carry, Dance with Nimki and the Niniis